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QUENCHING A GLOBAL THIRST

The creators of the cult film series Mad Max must have been in the know. Access to fresh drinking water remains one of the most precious resources for all life on Earth but is in short supply for many.

About one fifth of the global population is affected by water scarcity, according to the United Nations. We can drink it out of a tap in the developed world but about 1.2 billion people cannot.

It’s astounding to think how advanced humanity has become while so many are deprived of what should be a basic human right.

Moderated by Chair of the Expert Panel on Purified Recycled Water and the International Water Centre, Professor Paul Greenfield AO, this 90 minute panel discussion at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s Cremorne Theatre aims to explore a global solution.

Joining him will be member of Australian Rivers Institute and Griffith University’s Professor Stuart Bunn, member of the Board of Governors of the World Water Council Dr András Szöllösi-Nagy and Director of the City University of New York’s Advanced Science Research Centre Dr Charles Vörösmarty.

The United Nations set a new Sustainable Development Goal to achieve equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030; when the global population is expected to reach 8.5 billion. A further challenge to this goal is the mitigation of increasingly unpredictable weather conditions wrought by climate change.

As a reminder to all to conserve and protect the world’s water resources, Water: It’s Not a Privilege will be held on World Water Day on 22 March.

Can transformative technologies, data analytics and engineering innovations develop more effective ways to conserve, use and protect the world’s water resources?